- Iqbal Khan
The US has a persistent track record of using Human Rights as a tool for arm-twisting select countries, with the objective of forcing them to fall in line with regard to American policy. While at the same times it turns its face away from the atrocities committed by its favourite countries against their ethno-sectarian minorities. Pakistan has rightly rejected the recent US State Department’s unilateral and politically motivated pronouncement in its annual religious freedom report. Report was issued by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on December 11. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said that Pakistan’s inclusion on the US list was “pure political blackmailing” and an attempt by the United States to pressure Pakistan to implement US policy goals in Afghanistan.
Pakistan does not need counsel by any individual country on how to protect the rights of its minorities. As a party to 7 out of the 9 core human rights treaties, Pakistan is submitting its compliance reports on its obligations with regard to fundamental freedoms. Government of Pakistan has devised well established legal and administrative mechanisms to safeguard the rights of its citizens. In fact, for the US, an honest self-introspection is long overdue to ascertain the causes of exponential rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in its own territories. There are also serious questions on the credentials and impartiality of the self-proclaimed jury involved in such unwarranted exercises.
Such reports have since long become a part of strategy tool box of State Department for pursuit of un-declarable agenda. Interesting, the outgoing American ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who is of Indian origin, has accused Pakistan of allegedly harbouring terrorists, saying the US should not give Islamabad “even a dollar” until they correct the situation. “Giving them over a billion dollars, and they continue to harbour terrorists that turn around and kill our soldiers, that’s never okay,” Ms Haley, was quoted as saying in a well-timed interview with The Atlantic, a monthly magazine.
In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Prime Minister Imran Khan had dismissed US’ allegations that there were safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan, saying that the security forces had briefed him on the matter and told him that they had asked Washington “time and time again” to point out where the sanctuaries were. The prime minister also said that he would never want to have relations with the US where Pakistan is treated like a “hired gun.”
As per the report, nine countries would remain for another year on the US list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)—China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Report removed one country from the list — Uzbekistan — but kept it on the watch list. Pompeo also put on the watch list Russia, adding yet another item of contention to the relationship between the two countries. Russia has increasingly drawn concern in the US over its treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the heterodox Christian group known for proselytization. Also on the watch list is the Comoros, a Sunni Muslim State.
As per the US statement, Pakistan remains country of ‘particular concern’; however, no sanctions are imposed on this account due to ‘national interest. A US embassy spokesman said that Pompeo had issued a waiver over potential sanctions against Pakistan as required by “the important national interest of the United States”. Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat to the Foreign Ministry to lodge a strong protest. Demarche was handed to the US official, which elaborated on constitutional rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. The demarche said: “proponents of human rights worldwide close their eyes to the systematic persecution of minorities subjected to alien domination and foreign occupation such as in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir”. Even though there have been continuous outflow of IoK related reports by the UN and other HR Watchdogs of repute like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch etc. Similarly, Israel is also engaged in worst kind of human rights violations and understandably with tacit approval of the US, that shields its actions at every global and regional forum including the UN.
The report ignored the systematic religious targeting of minorities in India, particularly the Muslims, and places it in Tier 2 and moved Pakistan up a notch to Tier 1. After the name change of Allahabad and Faizabad, the Indian government is reportedly considering to change the names of Azamgarh (as Aryamgarh), Kanpur, Aligarh (as Harigarh) and Agra. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), RSS and the BJP’s associate organizations declare Muslims as foreign invaders and have been accusing that they had forcibly changed old names during their over 1000 years rule in India.
In the garb of preserving Indian ancient culture, BJP Government during its rule is continuously steering Hindutva agenda to promote Hindu identity in India and erase Muslim heritage, mainly to appease Hindu voters ahead of general election. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has also demanded ordinance to build Ram mandar to bypass the proceedings in Supreme Court which has deferred its next hearing till January 2019.
Pakistan is a multi-religious and pluralistic society where people of diverse faiths and denominations live together. Around 4 percent of its total population comprises citizens belonging to Christian, Hindu, Budhists and Sikh faiths. Ensuring equal treatment of minorities and their enjoyment of human rights without any discrimination is the cardinal principle of the constitution of Pakistan. Special seats have been reserved for minorities in the Parliament to ensure their adequate representation and voice in the legislative process. A vibrant and independent National Commission on Human Rights is functioning to address concerns on violation of the rights of minorities. Successive governments of Pakistan have made it a priority that rights of citizens belonging to minority faiths are protected as guaranteed by the law and the constitution.
The higher judiciary of the country has made several landmark decisions to protect the properties and places of worships of minorities. The timing of the full designation is surprising as it comes after Pakistan moved to resolve its most high-profile case, with the Supreme Court in October releasing Aasia Bibi — a Christian woman on death row for eight years for blasphemy. The government recently charged a hardline cleric, Khadim Hussain Rizvi with terrorism and sedition after he led violent protests against Aasia’s acquittal.
Hopefully the US would raise its voice against “massive human rights violations, carried out in IoK, Palestine. And take up the issue of the violation of human rights by some European states against their Muslim citizens in the form of curtailing their right to practice their religion freely and in the form of abuse of Islam and its Prophet (PBUH), in direct contravention of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and help in ensuring the rights of Muslim citizens to have their mosques and be able to dress and practice their religion freely and without ridicule in European states.
